Kenda Kikuyu

Kenda - a dense green Male Sterile Kikuyu
photo courtesy of Kenda Kikuyu

Kenda Kikuyu - A New Male Sterile Kikuyu

Kenda is yet another worthwhile addition to the growing family of Male Sterile Kikuyu turf grasses. This Australian bred MSK grass is proving very promising in common usage as it holds superior green winter colour which is better than all other grass types, including in areas where frosts and cold winters can cause many lawns to brown off, and Kenda holds far deeper winter colour over common Kikuyu and other grasses including Couch, Buffalo and Zoysia.

Kenda Is A Male Sterile Kikuyu

The importance of all people planting Kikuyu as a lawn to only ever use a Male Sterile Kikuyu is explained in our article Male Sterile Kikuyu. Which also explains why Common Kikuyu is so damaging to the environment and must be phased out of all use permanently.

The principle behind Male Sterile Kikuyu is that the turf produces almost no viable seed, and therefore when these fine seeds do escape into the open environment as all Kikuyu seed naturally does, or into our neighbours lawns, the seed cannot propagate into new grass plants, and so much of the environmental nuisance of common Kikuyu is thereby eliminated.

Sward, Stolon, Rhizome and Root Density

Compared to common Kikuyu, Kenda Kikuyu was selectively bred to grow with a superior density in sward - which is the mat of the lawn, as well as a denser and deeper root system, and improved density of rhizomes and stolons.

So what does all this mean for the homeowner?

Denser lawn mat (sward) helps keep weeds out of the lawn, while the denser underground runners (rhizomes) and deep root system reduce water usage and make Kenda more tolerant to drought conditions.

The denser above ground runners (stolons) combine with the density of the mat (sward) to keep weeds out of the lawn, and these same dense stolons are also proving to be an added bonus for growers and installers of this turf in that it rolls up, transports and lays without roll breakage - as opposed to the experience many people have with Common Kikuyu.

Combined together, these new traits also present Kenda to be a far superior lawn for beauty, softness and usability over old Kikuyu.

Kenda Shade Tolerance and Lawn Mowing Requirements

We are not aware of any available independent data that proves any difference between Common Kikuyu and Kenda Kikuyu when it comes to lawn mowing requirements and shade tolerance improvements with Kenda.

All Kikuyu, including common Kikuyu and the Male Sterile variants such as Kenda and Village Green have rapid growth rates, and therefore require frequent lawn mowing. The same is true of all Kikuyu when it comes to shade tolerance - Kikuyu tolerates shade very poorly and equally as badly as Couch.

Kenda Kikuyu Summary

Kenda is a valuable and worthwhile addition to the choices of Male Sterile Kikuyu available to Australian homeowners today. The added stolon density and what is proving to excellent winter colour are also two worthwhile features of this grass.

In conclusion to this article we must stress again for anyone who will be planting a new Kikuyu lawn, that we must all let the environmentally damaging common Kikuyu fade into history, and instead choose the far superior Male Sterile Kikuyu grasses, of which Kenda is one.

Disclaimer:
The Lawn Guide is independently owned and authored.
All articles on The Lawn Guide are original, unbiased and independent.
The Lawn Guide displays advertising from Kenda Kikuyu.